


Blush

by springsteenicious



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28923765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/springsteenicious/pseuds/springsteenicious
Summary: On a person's eighteenth birthday, they swap bodies with their soulmate. Hyde doesn't have high hopes for his soulmate, but when he wakes up in a very pink room with posters and painted nails, his life is changed for the better.
Relationships: Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde
Comments: 14
Kudos: 70





	Blush

Hyde kicked his feet up on the table in the basement. Tomorrow was his eighteenth birthday and he hadn't told anyone. He didn't want people making a big deal about it, like he knew they would. 

That was because on a person's eighteenth birthday, they swapped bodies with their soulmate. Hyde would wake up in some chick's body tomorrow. 

Maybe he should tell someone. So they weren't caught off guard by him acting weird tomorrow because some chick was in his body. 

"Michael, can you stop shouting?" Jackie said, glaring at Kelso. 

"I'll shout as much as I want! You can't tell me what to do if you're not my girlfriend!" Kelso said. 

"Yeah, just like Donna can't tell me what to do now that we're not together," Forman said. 

"Oh yeah, because I've been dying to control you," Donna said sarcastically. "And when's the burning stage of our breakup gonna end, huh? I'm sick of it." 

"It'll end when you take me back or when we both move on," Forman said. 

"Well, one of those isn't gonna happen," Donna said. 

"You know, Donna, if you're not gonna take him back and Jackie's not gonna take me back, we should totally do it," Kelso said. 

Donna tapped her chin, as if she was thinking about it. "Hmm… How about no?" 

"Fine. Jackie, will you do it with me?" Kelso said, turning toward Jackie on the couch. 

"No, Michael. I told you after your eighteenth birthday, you're not my soulmate, so we're not going to do it ever again," Jackie said. "I'm saving myself until I find my soulmate." 

"Kinda hard to 'save yourself' when you've already nailed Kelso a bunch of times," Forman said. Hyde clenched his jaw. He always did that when someone brought up Jackie and Kelso's past relationship. 

He had to stop getting so bothered by Jackie. He hadn't been able to get her out of his head since their date. But she hadn't felt anything during their kiss, so it didn't matter what he felt. 

"Yeah, well, I'm saving myself now," Jackie said. "I could wake up in my soulmate's body any day. It could be tomorrow, even. You never know." 

That wouldn't happen tomorrow. Unless her soulmate happened to have the same eighteenth birthday as Hyde. Because Jackie wouldn't be Hyde's soulmate. No matter how much he liked her. 

"Imagine that. Going to bed in your own room and waking up in some random guy's bed. That's a love story right there," Hyde said. 

"Shut up, Steven. Being in my soulmate's body for a day will be romantic. And I'm hoping it happens soon, because I don't want to wait until my eighteenth birthday," Jackie said. 

"Donna, do you think we'll swap bodies on my eighteenth?" Forman asked. 

"I hope not. I don't want to be in that body. And I don't want you in my body, where you're free to touch all this juicy stuff." Donna gestured vaguely to her breasts. 

"I would be respectful!" Forman protested. 

"My soulmate better be respectful of my body when he gets in it," Jackie said. 

"Jackie, no one cares," Forman said. Jackie gaped at him, offended. "Anyway, do you guys think Donna will be my soulmate?" 

"Uh, Eric, no one cares," Jackie said. Hyde chuckled and held out his hand for a low five. Jackie slapped his hand and grinned. 

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she  _ was _ his soulmate. 

~

Steven pulled Jackie to the side before she got to leave. Michael, Fez, Eric and Donna were preoccupied with a game of cards. "Hey, Jackie, I gotta tell you something." 

"What's up?" Jackie asked. 

"It's, uh… Tomorrow's my eighteenth, but I don't want anyone to know 'cause I don't want it to be a big deal. I'm only telling you so you can explain to everyone why I'm acting weird," Steven said. 

"Oh, yeah, of course. That's so exciting! You finally get to find out who your soulmate is!" Jackie exclaimed, grabbing his arm. 

"Yeah… Honestly I'm not too excited about it." 

Jackie gasped. "Why not? You get to find out who your one true love is! The person you will spend the rest of your life with. Isn't that wonderful?" 

"Just because this chick's my soulmate doesn't mean I'll marry her. Plus…" Steven licked his lips and looked away from her. "There's this chick I like that's not my soulmate, so my soulmate's screwed." 

"Well, what if that girl you like  _ is _ your soulmate?" Jackie asked. 

Steven looked at her and smirked. "Doubtful." 

~

Hyde woke up with something tickling his face. He pushed it away and it felt like his hair. But it wasn't  _ his _ hair. Oh. Right. Hyde took a deep breath, inhaling lavender scented something, maybe a candle, and opened his eyes. A mixture of excitement and dread settled over him as he took in his surroundings. 

He was in a small bed in a very pink room, with posters and flower pillows. He looked over at the nightstand to see a picture of Jackie. 

"Oh, man..." he said quietly, but he was speaking in Jackie's voice. He looked down at his hands. Perfectly manicured pink nails told him he was, indeed, in Jackie's body. "No way." 

Hyde stood up and walked over to the full length mirror in Jackie's room. Jackie's face stared back at him. This was the first time he'd seen her without any makeup whatsoever. Today would be the first day everyone saw Jackie makeup free, because Hyde had no clue how to do that shit. 

He looked over at the clock on Jackie's nightstand. It was eight in the morning. Okay. At least they didn't have school today. Hyde crossed the room to Jackie's closet and picked out a pair of jeans and one of her less pink shirts. He closed his eyes while he got dressed, not wanting to invade Jackie's privacy, like she'd pretty much told him not to yesterday. 

He brushed her hair, but it wasn't nearly as perfectly styled as Jackie's hair usually was. Hyde was really hoping that by some miracle, her parents weren't home. He didn't want to have to explain this. He also didn't want to be caught in the 'daughter's boyfriend meeting the father for the first time' speech. 

He found the pair of Jackie's boots with the lowest heels and put them on. Then, he left her room. The house was silent, which was a good sign. He made his way downstairs. No one seemed to be down there, so Hyde left out the front door and started the walk to the Formans'. 

~

Jackie rolled over in her bed. No, wait, this wasn't her bed. It was harder than her bed. And her body felt different, like she'd grown bigger overnight. Her eyes shot open. She was in an unfamiliar room. She sat up and looked down at herself. She was wearing baggy grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt and she was in a man's body. 

"Oh my God!" she said, but her voice came out as one she would recognize anywhere. She'd need a mirror to confirm her theory, however. She stood up and looked around the room. "Damn, Steven, why don't you have a mirror in your room?" 

She walked outside into the basement. She entered the bathroom, where she knew there was a mirror. Yeah, she was in Steven's body all, right. Meaning they were soulmates. She grinned. That was wonderful news. 

She left the bathroom and went back to Steven's room, where she went through his drawers trying to find a suitable outfit. She stiffened as a thought occurred to her. 

If she was in Steven's body, that meant Steven was in hers. She prayed to God that he would be respectful of her body and make her look decent. 

She avoided looking at Steven's body as she got dressed in a button-down shirt and the cleanest pair of jeans she could find. She even grabbed one of those vests he rarely wore. After putting on his nicer pair of boots, Jackie went upstairs. 

Only Eric was there, eating breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Forman must have gone out, or Mrs. Forman had an early shift. Jackie sat down next to Eric, who looked at her funny. 

"Hyde, why are you up so early on a Saturday?" Eric asked. 

"I felt like it," Jackie said. She grabbed a couple pancakes and some bacon from the plates in the middle of the table. Eric eyed her suspiciously. 

"Hyde never just 'feels like' waking up early," Eric said. 

"Well, I did today, Eric," Jackie said. 

Eric's eyes widened. "You never call me Eric!" 

Jackie opened her mouth to respond, but Eric looked over her shoulder. Jackie turned to see the sliding door open and…  _ herself _ walk through the door. 

"Hey, man," Steven-in-Jackie's-body said. 

"Why are you here? It's too early to listen to your shrill voice," Eric said. 

Steven sat down next to Jackie. "Well, Forman, there's not many other places I could go." 

A look of horror washed over Eric's face. "Wait a second. No, no, no. If he's calling me Eric and you're calling me Forman… And today is… Oh, God, no." 

Steven grinned. It was weird watching herself grin like that. For the first time since he arrived, Steven looked at Jackie. "Man, why'd you dress me up?" 

"Oh, I made you look better. You're the one that didn't give me any makeup!" Jackie said. 

Eric shrieked. "Stop, this is too weird!" 

"What am I supposed to do about it, Forman? I'm stuck like this all day," Steven said. He pushed her hair over his shoulder. 

"If we're gonna be stuck like this all day, then I have to give you some makeup," Jackie said. 

"After breakfast," Steven said, grabbing some pancakes and bacon. 

Mr. Forman walked in. "What's the loud one doing here?"

"Body swap," Jackie and Steven said at the same time. 

"I can't handle it," Eric said. "It's too weird." He stood up and walked down to the basement. Steven turned to Jackie. 

"After breakfast, we gotta talk," he said. 

She nodded. "And I have to make you look acceptable. Why on earth would you go outside without putting on makeup?" 

"Oh, you're in for a fun life, son," Mr. Forman said to Steven. 

~

After breakfast, Jackie dragged Hyde back to her house. She said her parents were away for the weekend, so they'd have the house to themselves. Now, he sat in her room while she did his makeup. 

It was weird. The whole situation was weird. Watching himself put makeup on Jackie's face was really weird. 

"You didn't look at my body when you got me dressed today, did you?" Jackie asked. Hyde's voice sounded unfamiliar to his own ears. 

"No, I closed my eyes. I respect your privacy," Hyde said. "Did you?" 

"No, of course not. The first time I see you naked, I want it to be special," Jackie said. 

Hyde raised his eyebrows and felt heat rush to his cheeks. He cleared his throat. "That's kind of a bold assumption, don't you think?" 

"No. We're soulmates, of course we're gonna be together eventually," Jackie said. 

"Just because we're soulmates doesn't mean we have to be together," Hyde said. "You said you didn't feel anything during our kiss. I'm not gonna force you into a relationship because of 'fate' or whatever." 

Jackie didn't respond, instead applying blush to his- her- cheeks. She closed the blush compact and set it on her desk with the brush. "I lied after the kiss." 

"Why?" Hyde asked. 

Jackie stared at him. "Because I thought you weren't my soulmate. I tried to convince myself I didn't feel anything because I thought I couldn't possibly feel what I did with someone who wasn't my soulmate. And you said you didn't feel anything, so it didn't matter." 

Hyde licked his lips. "I lied too." 

Jackie smiled. "Oh, I know." 

"What?" 

"I know. It was so obvious. 'Uh… no. Well… no." Since Jackie had his voice, that must've been exactly what he'd sounded like that night. 

"Damn. So… do you still like me?" Hyde asked. Jackie nodded and grabbed a tube of lipgloss from her makeup bag. Hyde held up one of his hands. "No. No lipgloss." 

Jackie huffed. "Fine." She grabbed the mirror and held it in front of his face. Jackie looked as beautiful as she always did. 

"So, what do you wanna do? While we're still stuck like this." Hyde gestured between them. 

"Hang out in the basement, like always?" Jackie suggested. "We should see how long we can trick Michael and Fez." 

"It'll be easier if you don't call him Michael," Hyde said. "Forman caught on with the names." 

"Right. I'll be careful of that," Jackie said. "Let's go. After I fix your outfit." 

Hyde rolled his eyes. "What's wrong with this?" 

"I would never wear those boots with that shirt." 

~

Donna walked into the basement to see Jackie sitting in Hyde's chair, legs spread wide and arms crossed down by her waist. Hyde was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and his arms folded over his chest. Kelso sat next to Hyde and Fez sat in the lawn chair. 

Donna sat between Hyde and Kelso. "So, Hyde, you let Jackie have your chair?" 

Hyde and Jackie exchanged a look. "Yeah," Hyde said. "Thought we should change things up." 

"Yeah, they're both acting weird. Me and Fez can't figure it out," Kelso said. "And Jackie, I don't care if you're acting weird. I still love you, no matter how strange you are." 

"Uh-huh," Jackie said. "Why don't you come over here and I'll show you how I feel about you." 

Hyde's eyes widened and he gave Jackie a look. Jackie just smirked as Kelso walked over to her. He started leaning in for a kiss, then Jackie punched his arm, hard. 

"Ow!" Kelso shouted. "Damn, Jackie! Why're you so aggressive today? Is it that time of month?" 

Jackie punched Kelso again. He cried out in pain and ran to the other side of the room. Hyde laughed and smiled at Jackie. 

"Usually Hyde is the one punching Kelso," Fez said. "Why aren't you punching Kelso, Hyde?" 

"Jackie's got it covered," Hyde said. 

Donna eyed them both suspiciously. Something was definitely up, and she intended to figure out what. Hyde and Jackie kept giving each other looks they evidently thought were secret. 

"What's the date again?" Donna asked. 

"November 28," Fez said. 

Donna looked at Hyde, then at Jackie. Hyde wasn't wearing his sunglasses. Jackie was seated in a way only Hyde usually sat. Jackie's hair wasn't as perfectly styled as it usually was. If today was Hyde's birthday, then… 

"Oh my God," Donna said. 

"Don't say anything," Jackie- or Hyde- said quickly. "If you wanna say something, go talk to F- Eric." 

Donna's eyes widened. "Oh my God!" 

"What? Did you figure out what's going on?" Kelso asked. 

"It's Hyde's birthday, idiot!" Donna said. 

"Aw man, so that's not Hyde?" Kelso squinted at Hyde. "Who are you?" 

Fez gasped. "Oh! I did not see that coming!" 

Hyde and Jackie were both grinning. Kelso looked between all four of them, confused. "What's going on? Someone explain it to me!" 

"You wanna tell him or should I?" Jackie asked Hyde. 

"You go ahead," Hyde said. 

"Well, Kelso, I'm Hyde," Hyde-in-Jackie's body said. 

"And I'm Jackie," Jackie-in-Hyde's body said. 

Kelso laughed. "Nah, you're messing with me. No way are you two soulmates." 

"How do we prove this to him?" Hyde asked Jackie. "He was your boyfriend once, how do we get him to understand this?" 

"Michael," Jackie said, "ask me any question that only I, Jackie Burkhart, would know the answer to." 

Kelso tapped his chin, deep in thought. "Oh! What did I say to you right after we did it for the first time?" 

"You said 'that was cool' and ran out like the room was on fire," Jackie said. 

Hyde punched Kelso's shoulder. "Dink." 

"Dammit, Jackie- I mean Hyde! Now I'm all confused!" 

Jackie and Hyde both laughed. Eric came down the stairs, a bowl of freshly made popcorn in his hands. He set it down on the table and sat next to Donna. "What's going on?" 

"Why didn't you tell me Jackie and Hyde were soulmates?" Donna asked. 

Eric dropped the piece of popcorn he was holding. "I… am still in denial." 

"Oh, get over it, Eric," Jackie said. It was jarring to hear Hyde's voice saying Eric instead of Forman. "Soon, Steven and I will be back to our normal bodies." 

"That's not the part I"m in denial about," Eric said. 

"I know, but I'm choosing to ignore that," Jackie said. 

"Hyde, when you get back to your normal body, I'm kicking your ass!" Kelso said. 

"Why?" Hyde asked. 

"'Cause you stole Jackie from me, duh!" 

"No, I didn't. First of all, she's not yours anymore. Second, we didn't choose to be soulmates. Third, we're not even together." 

"Yet," Jackie interjected. 

"Yet," Hyde amended. "So I couldn't have stolen her from you because she can do whatever the hell she wants." 

"I'd totally kiss you right now if we weren't in different bodies," Jackie said. 

A light blush rose in Hyde's cheeks. Well, Jackie's cheeks, but it was Hyde in her body. 

"This is so weird," Donna murmured. Eric nodded in agreement. 

~

Hyde and Jackie had managed to get away from the rest of the group and go to the Hub for a late lunch. Jackie had bought them cheeseburgers and an order of fries to share. 

Hyde pushed his hair out of his face for the billionth time that day. "Man, how do you deal with all this hair all the time?" 

"I like my hair long," Jackie said with a shrug. "You'll learn to like it at some point." 

"If this whole soulmate thing is gonna turn into you stalking me again, I'm out," Hyde said. Her certainty that they would be together and fall in love was freaking him out a little. He didn't want to be with her just because of their cosmic connection. 

"It won't. Look, I realize how bad I got before our date. I was to you as Fez was to me. I won't be like that again." 

Hyde was glad to hear her apology, though it was weird to hear it in his voice. "Thanks." 

"But," Jackie said, "I do think we are meant to be. Soulmates aren't soulmates for no reason. I know it's our choice to be together, but I also know we're meant to be." 

Hyde looked down at the plate of fries sitting between them. Something about her words wasn't sitting right with him. He might as well tell her. If they were going to be soulmates, he needed to be honest. "I don't wanna be with you if you're going to expect marriage someday. That's too much pressure to put on a relationship. We have no guarantees." 

Jackie nodded. "Okay. We'll just see how it goes, then. I won't expect marriage from you, but… I also don't think I would marry anyone else." 

"Are you even listening to me? I said I don't want you thinking we'll be together forever." 

"And I'm not. I'm just saying that right now I don't see myself with anyone else. I know that can change, but for now it won't. I just want to be with you, for as long as you want to be with me," Jackie said, putting her hand over his. Well, his hand over hers. 

Hyde stared at their hands. No one had ever had this much faith in him. It was kind of scary. But he also liked it. "I want to be with you for a while." 

Jackie smiled. "Good." She laced their fingers together and he didn't pull away. "I can't wait until we're back in our normal bodies. I really want to kiss you again." 

Hyde felt heat rushing to his cheeks again. "I can't wait either. You blush way too easily." He pressed his free hand to his cheeks in an attempt to cool them down. "You also have really cold hands." 

Jackie smiled at him. "You're just not good at being in my body." 

Hyde glared at her. She laughed. 

"You wanna sleep over at my place tonight? My parents are gone and I kinda wanna be near you when we switch back," Jackie said. 

"Sure," Hyde said. 

~

Later that night, Jackie brought Steven to her house. She turned on the television in the living room and they sat on the couch together. She flipped the channels until she found a movie she liked. She was surprised Steven didn't fight her decision. When she turned to ask him why, she found him looking at her. 

"What?" she asked. 

"It's weird watching you do things in my body," Steven said. 

"It is, isn't it?" Jackie put her arm up on the back of the couch. "At least we'll be back to normal soon." 

"Yeah." Steven stared at her for a moment. "Can I try something?" 

"What are you gonna do?" 

"Just trust me for a sec." 

"Okay…" 

Steven, in her body, put his legs over her lap and sat close to her. "I can move if you hate it." 

"No!" Jackie said, a little too quickly. "No, it's fine." Usually, she liked being the one on the lap. But this was kind of nice too. Mostly because she was in Steven's body and not her own. 

She put her arm around Steven's shoulders… her shoulders. She really couldn't wait to be back in her own body. Then she could be the one cuddling against Steven's chest. 

They were silent for a few moments, then Jackie remembered something Steven had said yesterday. "Why didn't you think we were gonna be soulmates?" 

"What?" 

"Yesterday, you said there was a girl you liked but she wouldn't be your soulmate. Why didn't you think we could be?" 

Steven was quiet for a minute. "Because I've never liked anyone as much as I like you. So I thought it was too good to be true, I guess. I've never felt this way about a girl so I figured you wouldn't feel that way about me." 

"I am so mad you said that while we're still body swapped because now I  _ really _ wanna kiss you." 

Steven smiled at her, blushing again. Maybe she really did blush easily. Steven rested his head on her chest- well,  _ her  _ head on  _ his _ chest- and they watched the movie together. 

~

Hyde woke up on the couch in Jackie's living room, with Jackie in his arms. They were back to their own bodies, finally. He smiled softly down at her, still sleeping with her head on his chest. He enjoyed being like this with her. 

She woke up soon after, rubbing her eye. She looked up at him. "Hi." 

"Hi." 

She leaned her head back on his chest. "You're so warm." 

Hyde smiled. He might actually love this chick. He wouldn't tell her just yet, that would contradict everything he'd said yesterday. But one day, when he was certain of her feelings for him… he would tell her. And she would be the first person he'd said those three words to. 

"Can I make you breakfast?" he asked. 

She looked up at him. "You cook?" 

"Yeah. You have pancake mix?" 

"Probably." 

~

Jackie had gotten the pancake mix from the pantry and Hyde had made a batch for breakfast. They were now sitting at the too-long dining room table and eating together. 

"You're a good cook," Jackie said. 

"Thanks. Nice to know that something good came out of me learning how to cook so I wouldn't starve," Hyde said. He needed to test that Jackie wouldn't run away from the facts of his past before they got together. 

"Your mom didn't feed you?" Jackie asked. 

"Nope. I was second priority to her booze addiction." 

Jackie laid her hand over his. He let her curl her fingers around his palm. "I kind of know how you feel. I mean, I'm not going hungry because we have the chef, but… I know what it's like to be second priority. I'm second to my dad's work and my mom's… 'booze addiction,' like you said." 

Hyde squeezed her hand lightly. They still had a lot to learn about each other, but they had plenty of time. And Hyde was willing to give them a chance to learn as much as they could about each other. 

"You're not a second priority to me," Jackie said. 

"Neither are you," Hyde said. 

They both started leaning in. Their mouths met in a kiss that ignited Hyde's insides, sending sparks through his body. Her lips were soft, warmer than they had been on Veteran's Day. As he kissed her, he became certain of his love for her. He could feel their cosmic connection in this kiss, and it was much too strong to ignore. 

When they parted, Hyde said quietly, "I'm glad it's you." 

Jackie smiled. "I'm glad it's you too." 

She kissed him again, deeper. They had a lot to work on, but they could do it. For once in his life, Hyde actually had a good feeling about them. Maybe they would make it after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> I am very sorry if this was confusing, I got mixed up with pronouns and names while writing. Let me know if there are parts where you got confused and I'll clarify. 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at spirngsteenicious! I also finally started updating to ff.net, so find me there at springsteenicious as well!


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